The Undoing of Something Good

I’m sitting here gazing out the family room window at the rear of my house.  The tire swing that I hung from one of the larger branches of the Raywood ash tree is motionless for the time being, but my grandkids always enjoy swinging on it when they come to visit.

The days of my youth are replaying in my mind quite vividly as I remember the fun that I had growing up.  It seems like only yesterday that I was scampering down the street in front of my house in Martinez, California without a care in the world.

The street seemed wide as a child, but in reality it is a very narrow road on which I drive on my infrequent trips to see the old homestead of my youth.  The street, the house I lived in, the steps leading to the front door, and the rooms inside seemed much larger back then.

Even the neighbor’s lawn at the end of the street is only a small area of grass with a very short, concrete retaining wall on the outside edge that runs parallel with the sidewalk.

As a small lad I could barely scale the wall’s incredible height to enjoy rolling back and forth on the huge area of green grass.  Everything was certainly bigger when looking through the eyes of a child. 

In comparison, the insurmountable mountains of dreams and visions that God placed in my heart in years past are like molehills when looking back, now that I have achieved many of them with God’s help.  Things are not always as they seem when facing them for the first time.  What I thought were merely dreams became reality as I buckled down and pursued them. 

We sometimes look through eyes of skepticism and listen to the devil tell us that we are incapable of doing what God has asked of us, but God never requests anything that He is not willing to help bring to pass.  God wants us to succeed and grow in Him; unlike our adversary the devil.

Like the retaining wall, things may appear too large or too high to scale, but as we grow in grace and mature spiritually, those things that seemed impossible to achieve, we learn, by doing, that victory can be realized through Christ who strengthens us.  We can look back and see the hand of God at work as He helped us conquer our fears, while becoming successful at what we set our mind to do.

(Matthew 19:26), “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.’ ”

God equips us for the task at hand.  He does not throw us in harms way and expect us to do the work of the Lord on our own.  When facing the giant of unbelief or the massive size of a wall of timidness, God’s empowerment through the Holy Spirit enables us to climb overwhelming bearers and defeat enormous challenges.  This allows us to enjoy the green grass of achievement.

(Philippians 4:13), “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

Our Father God is with us every step of the way, saying, “You can do it!”  Things are not always as they seem to our finite intelligence or natural thinking.  Satan would have us believe that we are too weak or too small to do what God said we can do through Him. 

Satan is a liar and will cheat you out of a blessing if you allow him to do so.  The key is to not listen to him, but trust in the infinite power of God Almighty.  We should not lean upon our own understanding, but rely on God with all of our heart.

 

(John 8:44), “…He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.  When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.”

Be encouraged.  God is our strength and the lifter of our head when discouragement bangs at the door.  The Lord knows how to rekindle the flame of servant hood.  Don’t be so quick and willing to throw in the towel of defeat and lose ground in this ongoing battle with Satan.  He is trying to steal your stability in Christ and the ministry that God has called you to do.

It is most difficult to regain those things that we have worked so long and hard to achieve if we hastily undo something that is good in our life—the respect of others; one’s testimony; position or recognition, to name a few.  We must be careful not to undo something that God considers good. 

Give God a chance to work out the details on your behalf.  The things you think are huge and beyond His ability to fix or achieve will soon reveal itself in a positive way.  Discouragement will pale in comparison to the greatness of God’s perfect plan for your life.  Keep hope alive; trust in Jesus.

I believe that God wants us to be strong and not fear.  It is not His will that we become dismayed in the battles we face, because the battles are not ours, but His.  We are to position ourselves at the front line, facing the enemy, and then stand still and watch the glory of God begin to move.

If you leave the fight or your position, you will never see or taste victory.  We need not be cocky or arrogant in our stand, but we can be sure and confident, because God is with us.

(Ephesians 6:10-18), “Finally, my brethren be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”  vs.11 “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”  vs.12 “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  vs.13 “therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”  vs.14 “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,” vs.15 “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;” vs.16 “above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.”  vs.17 “And take the helmet of salvation, and sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;” vs.18 “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints.”

When we put on the Whole Armor of God, our steps are ordered of the Lord.  We stand in the knowledge that we are not undoing something that is good, but we are allowing God to work, instead.  There is nothing worse than making a hasty decision and then regretting it later. 

If this were to happen, God is able and faithful to restore those things that are undone.  He loves you with a never ending love and wants you to be happy and fulfilled.  Give God the reins of your life and see the miracles that He will do.

Written by,

Papa Boyd 



What would You have me Do

You may be sitting there thoroughly disgusted and bummed out; in a stupor; wondering why you have “lost that loving feeling” for anything related to your vocation that you’ve worked so hard to achieve. 

Perhaps your emotions are heightened to the point that it seems you are losing momentum and needing steam to climb the hill of responsibility, because the fire of motivation is flickering and going out, while the tasks surrounding you are not only increasing, but overwhelmingly taxing your state of mind.  Maybe you find it hard to grasp why there is a feeling of stagnation creeping in, which creates a disheartened attitude.

Allow me to take a moment to offer my non-professional take on things.  You may or may not agree with my thoughts relating to life, but remember this; they are just that, my thoughts. 

The hope that encapsulates this writing is that you glean insight from my viewpoints and set into motion those things that you find informative, which may help shed light on questions that you have.

In one of my previous writings, “Evil Loves Darkness”, I mentioned the question, “What would You have me do?”  I stated briefly that people must take the ideas and thoughts that God gives and implement them.  Permit me to build upon this all-important question and pose a few suggestions of solutions that I found helpful in my everyday struggles to make ends meet.

As you read, it wouldn’t surprise me if you rolled your eyes back in their sockets and uttered this statement to yourself:  “That sounds good, but I’ve done my part and little has happened through my efforts!”  You say, “Little”, but have you considered the positive aspects of past accomplishments that you achieved through determination and perseverance? 

Those important objectives that you set for yourself were not just your goals, they were ambitions placed in your heart by God.  He then helped you to excel and realize your dreams.

Perhaps your past achievements seem to you as nil and vain at times, because you feel unfulfilled in the position that you now hold at work.  Your desire to advance to a higher level of duty that you feel you are qualified for is not without merit, but it is not yet time.  Remember this, your comings and goings were not efforts in futility, they were necessary for your development so that God can advance you in His time, which is ideally perfect.

God is not through with you.  He had you prepare in advanced education, or trade school, or learning another language, or obtaining a contractor’s license, or marrying the love of your life, or whatever…for the purpose of advancing you.

God will continue His forward motion in your life to bring about excellence.  He never ceases to amaze me of the things He does in my life.  God is still working on your behalf, opening doors that no man can close and closing doors that no man can open unless it is God’s will that you step through.

You may feel that you are stagnating, but God is not finished with you.  He has the tomorrows all planned out.  Though you cannot see those things around the corner that God has planned, and the incredible, unbelievable position that He is holding for you, He will accomplish what He has begun.  Be patient and give Him time. 

God expects us to find contentment in the present, knowing that His perfect plan is being worked out for our good.  We must prepare ourselves mentally, emotionally, and spiritually to trust God for miracles and then stand fast and believe. 

We must count our blessings rather than thinking that our past achievements are not recognized as important by those sitting on interview panels for the different jobs that we thought we wanted.  God sees our worth.  It is not yet time.  When are we going to fully realize that God is our Father and we are His children and that He wants the very best for us?

(Romans 8:28), “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

The key to success is determining each day to be happy.  It is a choice that we make when we rise each morning to face another day.  We can settle for a run of the mill, mediocre type of existence that the lack of trust produces, or stand on God’s Word that says that our steps are ordered of Him.  The choice is ours to make; no-one else can make it for us.

(Psalm 37:23), “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way.”

We mustn’t allow the three “Ds” to deflate our mental state of mind and cause the question, “Why?” to loom over our head like a dark cloud.  Disappointment, Discouragement, and Doubt are Satan’s methods of making us live below our privileges in Christ.

If we yield to these methods, not only will we suffer defeat and live in “poverty of creativity,” everyone around us will sense our frustration.  There is no way to fake a smile when a frown lives within a person.  It comes out when we least expect it—it’s ugly.

I believe that God endeavors to teach humility if we are amenable to be taught.  How can He advance a person that has not learned contentment with the blessings that God has already given?

There is a host of people out of work or trying to advance their career that would trade places with you in a heartbeat, but God ordained that you be there for this segment of time until lessons have been learned or other positions become available.  God has not forgotten your house or email address.  He knows where to find you.

Consider for a moment how fortunate you are and remind yourself of the question that you’ve asked God, “What would You have me do?” and then make each day the best day that you can make it. 

Be the most outstanding and excellent individual at what you do presently and get out of the trench of discontentment so that people notice and take interest in your abilities.  Go the extra mile to show yourself worthy of the position you hold and see how God will advance you.

You may say, “I do this!”  Well, keep on doing it with all of your heart, mind, body, and soul.  Quit thinking of yourself as a second-rate nobody or a victim of some kind of conspiracy that has formed against you, (if this is what you are doing).  God’s children are not victims, they are victorious through Jesus Christ.

God has great plans for your future, but He expects you to make the most out of each day.  Count your blessings and name them one by one.  You will see what God has done and what He is doing, but you need to stop staring at the one spot on the “floor of self-destructive thinking.”  Raise your head so you can see clearly where God wants you to place your next footstep.

You heard God’s voice in the past and set out to implement His ideas and thoughts that filled your mind.  Don’t give up on God now; He hasn’t given up on you. 

Each day we make a conscious decision to either submit and yield ourselves to the three “Ds” or resist the devil and hold these negative thoughts at bay.  Rely on God to advance you as He desires.  He wants the very best for you—His child.  “What would You have me do?” requires patience with oneself and patience with God.

Patience is certainly a virtue and doesn’t come easily.  It must be cultivated and learned.  Our character is revealed by the attitude and frame of mind by which we handle and work through each challenge that we face.  We need only to claim goodness and mercy with the measure of faith that God has given us; then expect miracles to happen.

(Psalm 23:6), “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

(Hebrews 11:1), “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Written by,

Papa Boyd